EVP, Fintech

Mission North•New York, NY

About The Position

Mission North is seeking an experienced, entrepreneurial leader to drive the growth and evolution of its Financial Services practice. This senior leadership role is responsible for expanding the portfolio of fintech, financial services, insurtech, and proptech clients and shaping the strategic direction of the practice. The role involves serving as a trusted advisor to C-suite leaders, guiding them through significant moments such as IPOs, category creation, regulatory navigation, and crisis management. The ideal candidate will possess a strong point of view on the fintech landscape, contribute to the agency's thought leadership, and lead a team of communications professionals. This position requires an individual who can independently generate pipeline, lead pitches, and build long-term client relationships.

Requirements

15+ years of senior communications experience at PR agencies (in-house experience a plus) at fintech or financial services companies, with a demonstrated track record of impact at each level.
A proven business developer—you have closed and retained clients independently, you maintain a strong and active network of decision-makers across fintech, financial services, insurtech, proptech, and crypto, and you convert relationships into pipeline without prompting or oversight.
A recognized voice in the fintech and financial services space, with a demonstrated habit of publishing, speaking, and contributing to the conversations that shape the industry.
A trusted C-suite counselor. You have deep experience advising CMOs, CCOs, and CEOs through high-stakes moments: regulatory change, market volatility, M&A, leadership transitions, and crises.
Experienced with communications milestone moments: launching from stealth, creating a category, navigating a crisis, preparing for an IPO, and managing reputation through periods of change.
A skilled facilitator and communicator. You lead strategic workshops and messaging sessions with executive teams and present with clarity and authority in any room.
A strong team leader with experience managing and developing senior-level direct reports, building high-performing teams, and fostering a culture of accountability, growth, and craft.
Able to work across multiple client portfolios simultaneously, maintaining quality and strategic oversight without losing the thread on any account.

Nice To Haves

In-house experience a plus.
Experience in public affairs and advocacy.
Experience in financial communications.
Experience in investor relations.

Responsibilities

Drive the growth and evolution of the Financial Services practice.
Expand the portfolio of fintech, financial services, insurtech, and proptech clients.
Shape the strategic direction of the practice.
Serve as a trusted advisor to C-suite leaders at financial services companies.
Guide clients through defining moments like IPOs, corporate milestones, category creation, regulatory navigation, crisis, and reputation renewal.
Bring a sharp, published point of view on issues shaping the fintech landscape.
Activate expertise to drive the agency’s thought leadership, visibility, and new business pipeline.
Lead, inspire, and develop a talented team of communications professionals.
Partner with the SVP to set and achieve the practice’s goals.
Generate pipeline independently.
Lead pitches from start to finish without executive support.
Build client relationships that compound over time into retained, high-value engagements.
Own the practice’s revenue growth—set goals, build pipeline, and close.
Drive new business development independently, including identifying prospects, cultivating relationships, and leading pitches from brief through contract, without reliance on executive support to anchor the process.
Generate organic growth within the existing portfolio by identifying and timing strategic recommendations that align scope expansions to client needs and business moments.
Build and maintain a visible, active pipeline, with regular reporting on BD activity, prospect conversations, and conversion progress.
Serve as a senior strategic advisor to the executives at our most important and complex client accounts.
Advise CMOs, CCOs, and CEOs through high-stakes situations—regulatory developments, market volatility, competitive disruption, M&A activity, leadership transitions, and reputational risk.
Help clients make strategic decisions about their narrative, positioning, and market presence.
Build relationships deep and trusting enough that executives bring you in before the crisis, before the announcement, and when they’re working through decisions that have a communications dimension.
Oversee the development of integrated communications strategies for clients navigating milestone moments—IPOs, category launches, acquisitions, rebrands—and ensuring the strategic frame is clear before teams begin building.
Maintain strong relationships across the portfolio, ensuring quality of service, identifying opportunities for deepened engagement, and serving as the senior escalation point when issues arise.
Develop and regularly publish a sharp, original point of view—on emerging regulation, market shifts, the evolution of fintech categories, AI’s impact on financial services, and other issues where Mission North should have a seat at the table.
Represent Mission North at industry conferences, panels, and events as a credible, senior voice in the fintech communications space.
Develop thought leadership platforms and programs for clients: from executive positioning and message architecture to content strategy, spokesperson development, and speaker placement.
Identify the moments in the market when Mission North and its clients should shape the conversation, and activating the team to get there.
Conceptualize tent-pole marketing moments for the practice—sponsored media events, roundtables, podcasts, and LinkedIn activations—that increase Mission North’s visibility with key prospects.
Collaborate closely with the practice’s SVP and broader account team leadership to set strategy, manage portfolio staffing and forecasting, and achieve shared practice goals.
Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of communications professionals, creating clear paths for growth and holding a high bar for strategic quality and craft.
Serve as a steward of Mission North’s values and operating principles across the practice and the broader agency.
Work cross-functionally with creative, digital, and other agency teams to ensure seamless, integrated execution across client programs.